This invention relates generally to a garment bag of the type used to transport garments stored on separate hangers and more particularly to a garment bag where the hooks of the garment-bearing hangers extend through the upper end of the bag to provide a hand-grip when the bag is being transported, and to provide the point of suspension when the bag is stored, for example, on a closet rack. In the art, a small opening is generally provided centrally at the upper end of the bag for passage therethrough of the hanger hooks. Ideally the hooks are readily available to the person who wishes to transport the loaded bag. Unfortunately when the loaded bag has been lying flat, for example, on the rear seat of an automobile, or when a hanging loaded bag is lifted from the rack for purposes of hand-carriage, the hanger hooks, all or some, may slide through the top opening and become inaccessable to the user until the bag is opened.
Additionally when the bag is lifted by the hanger hooks, and, as described above, one or more hangers have slipped through the top opening, the unhooked garments and their hangers fall to the bottom of the bag. Aside from the inconvenience of retrieving the fallen garments, the garment bag, designed primarily as a covering for clothing, now bears the unintended weight load of the garments. This stresses the bag walls and top and can cause tearing which most frequently occurs proximate the central top opening.
What is needed is a garment bag which secures the separate and independent hangers and prevents the unintended slippage of the hanger hooks through the top opening.